The International Association of Judges was founded in Salzburg (Austria) in 1953 as a professional, non-political, international organization, grouping not individual judges, but national associations of judges.

The main aim of the Association is to safeguard the independence of the judiciary, as an essential requirement of the judicial function and guarantee of human rights and freedom.

Today the organization encompasses 74 such national associations or representative groups, from five Continents.

The Association has four Regional Groups:
i) the European Association of Judges (42 Countries);
ii) the Iberoamerican Group (14 Countries);
iii) the African Group (12 Countries);
iv) the Asian, North American and Oceanian Group (10 Countries).

The IAJ has four Study-Commissions, dealing respectively with judicial administration and status of the judiciary, civil law and procedure, criminal law and procedure, public and social law. On the basis of national reports, the members of the Commissions study problems of common interest to the justice process in every country of the world, on a comparative and transnational basis.

The Association has consultative status with the United Nations (namely the International Labour Office and the U.N. Economic and Social Council) and with the Council of Europe.